Sand heater and drier.



G. A. MULLEN. l SAND HEATER AND DRIER. APPLIoATxoN FILED APB. 17, 190s.

` 965,214e V Patented July 26, 1910.

THE 10mila Fzrsns C0.. wAsnlNcToN, D. a

UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

CHARLES A. MULLEN, OIE' NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 ANDREWA. MULLEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAND HEATER AND DRIER.

.To all whom it may Concern.'

Be it known that -I, CHARLES A. MULLEN, citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand Heatersand Driers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in heaters and driers for sandand like granular substances, the principal object being to provide anapparatus which will effectually remove the moisture from andsufficiently heat the sand by a continuous process for its utilizationin the manufacture of asphalt pavements.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus whichwill be simple in construction, and will materially reduce the cost ofthe heating and drying of granular substances over the present type 110Win use.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of such anapparatus that will eifectually prevent any fine particles of sandpassing out with the blast as in the present method, and also theeliminating of the dust nuisance so much complained of around asphaltplants.

I/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consistspincertain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangementof parts, all as will be now described and the particular features ofnovelty pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings z-Figure l is a. vertical section through an apparatusembodying my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional viewthereof taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View of amodifiedform of heating and drying tube, the same showing perforationstherein for carrying Fig. 4 is a detail view of a Off the moisture.modified form of smoke flue, also showing perforations therein, and Fig.5 is a vertical section through an apparatus embodying a modification ofthe invention.

In carrying this invention into practice I preferably make use of a binor hopper, into which the sand is dumped in bulk and from which it isdrawn through the heating and drying mechanism by a continuous process,although provision is made for regulating the rapidity with which thesand travels Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 17, 1908.

Patented July 26, 1910. Serial No. 427,574.

through the heating and drying apparatus, thereby adapting the apparatusfor operation upon sand containing various amounts of moisture. Asshown, the hopper is in the form of acylindrical casing, preferably openat the top and into which the sand may be dumped or shoveled, suchmaterial being allowed to gravitate down through the drying chamber andto be discharged from the bottom thereof in any desired or preferredmanner.

The hopper is indicated at a, and is mounted upon an inclosed casing bwhich constitutes the hot-air distributing chamber of my apparatus. Thehopperis attached to said hot-air chamber in any preferred manner, andmay, if desired, be formed as an integral part with said chamber orcasing.

Arranged within the chamber b are a plurality of vertical tubes c forreceiving the material from the hopper a, said tubes being connected tothe top (Z of said hotair chamber which forms the bottom of the hopper.The tubes enter within the hopper and are adapted to receive thematerial therefrom, and convey the same by gravity to suitable retainingand discharging pipes or chutes c, from which the material is allowed tobe discharged for use as may be desired. The discharge chutes or pipeswhich are inclined downwardly, are arranged within the hot-air chamber,and eX- tend out through the sides of said chamber or casing so as todischarge the material in a dry and heated state and at a place where itcan be readily obtained for the use desired. Suitable valves as shown atf are arranged within the discharge pipes for the purpose of regulatingthe discharge of the sand from the drying and heating apparatus.

In the drawings four of the retaining and discharge pipes are shown,although it is to be understood that any number of the said pipes may beused, and it is to be further noted that the vertical heating tubescommunica-te with the discharge pipes through the sides thereof, threeof said vertical tubes being shown in the present instance as enteringeach discharge pipe on each side thereof.

I/ith a view to supplying heated air to the chamber or casing b for thepurpose of carrying off the moisture from the sand contained within thevertical heating Vand drying tubes, I preferably arrange said chamber orcasing b above a suitable furnace g.

A smoke or flue it leading fromsaid furnace is centrally arranged withinsaid chamber, and is adapted to carry off the products of combustion,the flue passing through the side of the chamber at a point indicated atz'.

A suitable damper j is also provided and is between the vertical tubes,and also to prevent the fire from acting directly upon the tubes andthereby destroying or burning them out. Y

It is to be understood from the foregoing description that, the heatingchamber or casing being open only at the bottom where it communicatesdirectly with the fire, the air in said chamber becomes heated to a veryhigh degree thus heating the vertical tubes and effectually driving offall moisture from the sand or other material contained in said tubes. Asthe vertical tubes are comparatively small in diameter it will bereadily understood that the material contained therein will be heatedand dried very quickly, and as the retaining and discharging pipes orchutes are of somewhat larger diameter, the same will allow for aconsiderable amount of the material to be held therein directly abovethe fire, and permit the material to be quickly discharged therefromwhen desired.

In some instances it may be found necessary to provide suitable smallperforations in the vertical heating and drying tubes for carrying of'r1the moisture. These perforations are indicated at c', in Fig. 3 and arearranged in said heating and drying tubes as inclined upwardly from theinside of the tubes to the outside thereof, so as to prevent any escapeof the sand along with the moisture. It may also be desirable toperforate the smoke flue /t so as to create a slight draft in theheating chamber` or casing, and thus carry oif the moisture containedtherein. Such perforated ue is shown in Fig. 4, and the perforations asindicated at /L are inclined upwardly from the outside of said flue tothe inside thereof.

In the modification of my invention as illustrated in Fig. 5 of thedrawings, it is to be noted that all of the vertical tubes for receivingthe material to be heated and dried, are extended out through the sidesof the heating chamber so that the material contained in each tube willbe discharged directly therefrom, instead of discharging into theinclined pipes or chutes as in the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.Each of the tubes is provided as shown atl with a valve for regulatingthe discharge of the material from said tubes.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a furnace, aninclosed' hot-air chamber o-r casing arranged directly above thefurnace, a plurality of heating tubes within said chamber for receivingthe Inaterial to be heated and dried, a perforated crown-plate locatedabove the furnace for distributing the hot-air equally between saidtubes, and a smoke flue supported by said crown-plate.

2. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a hot-air chamber orcasing, a hopper arranged above said chamber for receiving the materialto be dried and heated, a Vplurality of vertically disposed heatingtubes within said chamber and having communication with said hopper forreceiving the material therefrom, and inclined discharge pipes leadingfrom said vertical tubes for discharging the material outside theheating chamber.

, 3. VA sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a hot-air chamberor casing,.a hopper arranged above said chamber for receiving thematerial to be dried and heated, a plurality of vertically disposedheating tubes within said chamber and having communication with saidhopper for receiving the material therefrom, and inclined dischargepipes into which said vertical tubes empty and from which the materialmay be discharged in a dry and heated state.

4. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a hot-air chamber orcasing, a

hopper arranged adjacent said chamber for receiving the material to bedried and heated, a plurality of vertical tubes within the chamber` andhaving communication with said hopper for receiving the materialtherefrom, discharge outlets at .the bottoms of said tubes, a furnacearranged below the hot-air chamber and having communication therewithfor heating the same, and a smoke flue leading from the furnace andpassing centrally through the hot-air chamber.

5. A sand drying andheating apparatus comprising a hot-air chamber orcasing, a hopper arranged adjacent said chamber for receiving thematerial to be dried, a. plurality of tubes of comparatively smalldiameter arranged in saidchamber and having communication with thehopper for receiving the material therefrom, and` discharge pipes orchutes of larger diameter than the heating tubes into which said tubesempty and from whichthe material may be discharged in a dry and heatedstate.

6. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising an inclosed heatingchamber or casing, a plurality of heating tubes within said chamber forreceiving the material to be heated and dried, and inclined dischargepipes leading from said tubes for discharging the material outside theheating chamber.

7. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a hot-air chamber orcasing, a hopper arranged adjacent said casing or chamber for receivingthe material to be dried and heated, a plurality of perforated tubeswithin said chamber and having communication with the hopper forreceiving the material therefrom, discharge outlets at the bottoms ofsaid tubes, a furnace arranged below the hot-air chamber and havingcommunication therewith for heating the same, and a perforated smokeflue leading from the furnace and passing centrally through the hot-airchamber.

8. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a heating chamber orcasing, a plurality of perforated heating tubes within said chamber forreceiving the material to be heated and dried, a furnace arranged belowthe chamber and having communication therewith for heating the same, anda perforated smoke flue leading from the furnace and passing through theheating chamber.

9. A sand drying and heating apparatus comprising a heating chamber orcasing, a plurality of perforated heating tubes within said chamber forreceiving the material to be heated and dried, the perforations of thetubes being inclined upwardly from the inside of said tubes to theoutside thereof, a furnace arranged below the chamber and havingcommunication therewith for heating the same, and a perforated smokeflue leading from the furnace and passing through the heating chamber,the perforations in said flue being inclined upwardly from the outsideof said flue toward the inside thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. MULLEN.

Witnesses:

CLARA S. MULLEN, JANE A. MULLEN.

